Church truck



May 5, 1942. R. R. D' MENT CHURCH TRUCK Filed Deo. 20, 1940 Patented May5, 1942 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHURCH TRUCK Robert It. De Merit,Cleveland Heights, Ohio Application December 20, 1940, Serial No.370,934

7 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of casket trucks for use at funeralceremonies. I

One object of the present invention is to devise an improved means forextending and collapsing the truck body so that such means will possessa very high degree of strength and rigidity.

Another object is to devise such a mechanism that can be manipulated ina convenient manner and Without any danger of injury to the hands of theoperator. i

A further object is to devise such a mechanism that will be located atthe lower part of the truck body and hence will be especially adapted tosupport the load of the truck, and at the same time will permit anydesired drape-supporting means to be employed at the upper part of thetruck body without any interference by the adjustable mechanism in atruck body of a given height.

A still further object is to devise an adjustable mechanism that issubstantially self-locking and can be depended upon to hold the truckbody in any degree of extension without requiring any other means forholding the same in such position or condition, thereby avoiding alsothe necessity of manipulating a separate orv additional means forlocking the truck body in either fully or partially extended position.

Other objects will appear from the following description and claims whenconsidered together with the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved device, with the drapepartially broken away;

Fig. 2 is a view taken online 2-2 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is an enarged detail sectional View corresponding to Fig. 2.

The four upright corner posts I are supported by the bowed form of mainlever arms 2 which, with the auxiliary lever arms 3, are adapted to beoperated in a manner resembling the raising and lowering operation ofthe familiar umbrella, i,

as will be more fully explained and as will be more clearly understoodfrom the accompanying drawing, especially the illustration in Fig. 2.

The main lever arms 2 are pivotally connected at their inner ends to thetransverse support which has the middle threaded portion 4 engaging thethreaded portion 5a of the shaft 5, and which has also the outer sleeveportions 6 slidably mounted upon the telescopic members 1. The members Ihave telescopic engagement with the parallel rods 8 which are flxedlymounted in the middle block 9. The screw-threaded shaft 5 also extendsthrough the block `9 and is rotatable therein by means of the .crank IIJat one end thereof, although any other suitable means may be providedfor such purpose.

The inner ends of the auxiliary lever arms 3 are pivotally connected tothe outer ends of the transverse supporting means II which is xedlymounted upon the parallel telescopic members 1 so as to be movabletherewith, the supporting means Il having a middle threaded portion I2which has operative engagement with the threaded portion 5b of the shaft5.

The threads of the portion 5a are of a different pitch from that of thethreaded portion 5b, the threads 5a. having a pitch that is steeper thanthat of the threads 5b so that, for a given rate of rotation of theshaft 5, the threaded member 4 will travel at a greater rate of speedthan the threaded member I2, as for instance at a ratio of three to one,although the invention is not limited to this specic ratio. Thus thereis a differential between the movements of the threaded portions `4 andI2 and hence between the movements of the inner ends of the lever arms 2and 3, thereby causing the extensible movements of the corner posts I,as illustrated in Fig. 2.

It might be said that the eect of the operation of the threaded portion4 is to cause the main lever arms 2 to be adjusted longitudinally, whilethe effect of the operation of the threaded portion l2 is to cause thelateral adjustment of the lever arms 2 by means of the arms 3. Both ofthese movements are effected simultaneously and thus there is produced acombined movement or operation of the main and auxiliary lever arms 2and 3; with the result that the operation of thev shaft 5'will produce acombined longitudinal and lateral movement of the corner posts, eitherduring the extending or collapsing operation of the truck body. Thecollapsed condition of the lever mechanism is indicated in dotted linesin Vthe right-hand part of Fig. 2, while the extended condition oi thesame is indicated in full lines in the same iigure of the drawing.

When the mechanism is extended to the fullest degree, as indicated bythe full lines in Fig. 2, the

lever arms 3 will occupy transverse position and will thus serve to holdthe lever arms 2 in such extended position, without requiring the use ofany other locking means. Furthermore, by virtue of the screw-threadedengagement between the shaft 5 andthe threaded portions 4 and I2, theengagement between the threads themselves will serve as a means ofholding the parts in substantially locked condition for any position towhich adjusted, whether the mechanism be adjusted to fully closed orfully open position or to only partially extended position.

The drape I3 may be supported from the upper part of thetruck by meansof the old and well-known lazy tongs I4, as taught for instance in thepatent to Ort, No. 628,633, July 11, 1899, Vsuch drape-supporting meansbeing provided in the present case at the two ends and the two sides ofthe truck body.

These lazy tongs may be mounted upon the corner posts in any suitablemanner, as for instance by means of the rings I5 which are clamped upontherposts I. As also taught by the Ort patent, supra, there may beprovided eyelets at the upper joints I6 of the lazy tong members for thepurpose of receiving hooks provided upon the upper edge of the drape soas to permit the drape to be removably supported thereupon and to bereadily removed when it is desired to change the drape or to clean thesame. The drapes, when mounted upon :the lazy tong supporting means, maybevextended and folded as part of the same operation that is employedfor adjusting the truck bodyitself.

It is understood, of course, that the casketis adapted to be supportedupon the upper ends of 'the posts I, and any suitable means may beprovided uponthe `upper ends of the posts I for engaging the same.

Thus I havedevised'an `adjustable mechanism for the truck body thatcanbe operatedr in a convenient manner, as well as in any effectivemanner, and can be depended upon to maintain Aits position, whetherfully or partially extended,

without requiring any additional locking means. Also, thisvparticularform of adjustable mechanism contributes to the strength and rigidity ofthe truck body, this mechanism being especially sturdy and dependablewhen in fully extended position and also peculiarly well adapted towithstand any of the stresses and strains to which such a device issubjected during normal use.

Furthermore, this mechanism may be operat- Yed without any danger *ofthe operator having his hands or lingers caught in any part thereofduring its manipulation.

By virtue of `the location of the adjustable mechanism in the llov/erpart .of the truck body, it is especially AWell adapted to carry theload `for which intended; and also there is afforded .ample space at theupper part thereof for attachment of the drape supporting means withoutrequiring .any additional height of the truck lbody for this. purpose.

r'bodily adjustable longitudinally of the truck body, andscrew meanswith threads of different pitch for effecting such bodily adjustment ofsaid lever members and for'operating said lever mechanism, respectively,thereby eiecting both longitudinal and lateral adjustment of said posts.

2. In a church truck, the combination of up- 'right corner posts,'collapsible means connecting said posts, said collapsible meansincluding main lever arms carrying said posts, auxiliary lever yarms forextending said main lever arms laterally ,fof the truck body, said mainand auxiliary lever arms being capable of relative bodily movement--longitudinally of the truck body during opera- `tion thereof, andvmeans for eiecting such relative bodily movement and for operating saidauxiliary lever arms so as to simultaneously eiect longitudinal andlateral movement of said posts.

3. In a church truck, the combination oi upright corner posts,collapsible means connecting said posts, said collapsible meansincluding main lever arms carrying said posts, said main lever armsbeing movable bodily for extension of said posts longitudinally 4of thetruck body, auxiliary lever arms for extending said main lever arms.laterally of the ,truck,body, land means for operating said main andauxiliary lever means simultaneously.

, l, 4. In a church truck, the combination of up- Aright corner posts,collapsible means connecting l0,-

said posts, said collapsible means including main leverarms carryingsaid posts, said main lever armsbeing movable bodily for extension ofsaid posts *lengthwise of the truck body, auxiliary lever .arms forextending said main lever arms laterally of the truck body, saidauxiliary lever Iarms being movable bodily lengthwise of the truckbodyand means for operating said main and'auxiliary leverarmssimultaneously with a `diiiierential in their respective movements so asto effect extension of the posts both longitudinally and laterally atthe same time.

5, In a church truck, the-combination of upright corner posts,collapsible means connecting saidposts, said collapsible means includingmain lever arms carrying said posts,.said main lever .arms being movablebodily for extension of said posts llengthwise of the truck body,auxiliary lever :arms for extending said. vmain lever arms laterally ofthe truck-body, said auxiliary lever arms beingr movable bodilylengthwise of the truck body, and screw means with threads ofndiiferentipitcl'i for operating said main and auxiliary lever' arms,respectively, at the same time so as to produce a differential betweenthe bodily movements thereof and thereby effect extension of 'the postsboth longitudinally and laterally at `the Sametime.

6. Ina church truck, the combination of upright corner posts,`collapsible means connecting `sai'diposts, said collapsible meansincluding main lever arms carrying'said posts, said main lever armsbeing movable Jbodily for extension of said iposts lengthwise of thetruck body, auxiliary vlever arms for extending said main lever armslaterally of the truck body, said auxiliary lever .arms being movablebodily lengthwise of the truck body,v'screw means for operating saidmain ylever arms longitudinally of the truckbody, and screw means withthreads of substantially less pitch for operating said auxiliary leverarms so as to thereby eiect lateral adjustment of said main lever arms,and means for operating said iscrew means simultaneously.

'7. In a church truck, the combination of longitudinally extensibletelescoping body members,

upright corner posts, main lever arms upon which said posts are carried,means for mounting A'said mainlever arms for longitudinal movement uponrsaid lbody members, auxiliary lever arms for exitending said main'lever arms laterally of the vtruck body, means for mounting saidauxiliary vleverarms upon onev of said body members so as 'of `the postsboth longitudinally and laterally at the same time.

ROBERT R. vDE MENT.

